#I was not expecting Scrappy to win

[saxandviolins77]

*sweating* S-Scrapper...?

Ok, whatever. Here is my list from worst to best. All based on MY own opinions... My aroace opinions, but trust me.

What I think would make a theoretically "good partner": a well-paying job, keeps to himself, is respectful, is a mature gentleman, makes time for me, and is not overbearing. (take this as a general, all-encompassing archetype.)

Edit: Just realized my "good partner" is someone who doesn't bother me and helps me pay the bills. Omfg, it's so over.

Hook: I love him, but I love him far away from me. I believe you have to be a very particular type of person to handle Hook, and that's for sure not me. He'd be so fucking abusive (on purpose or not), just that type of partner who judges your every hobby and interest as inferior and tries to change you into the perfect version of who they think you should be. Well-paying jobs though,,,

Bonecrusher: He's not an arrogant asshole like Hook... But the anger issues are a deal-breaker. For instance, if he got angry and tried to hit me or break one of my belongings, I'd hit him back. Fuck it. (OW! MY FINGERS!)

Scavenger: I don't have the grace nor the patience necessary to deal with his low self-esteem and people-pleasing behaviors. It's not him... It's me...

Mixmaster: Eh, neither of us would be putting much into the relationship; the mad scientist thing isn't even a deal-breaker, just the indifference towards navigating romance that I feel he'd have. He seems fun at parties though, sooo... Just friends.

Scrapper: a calm and collected artist with a well-paying job and a stable career. The psychopath thing IS a deal-breaker for me; I really don't feel like jeopardizing my clean record to help him in his obsessions. I also feel he wouldn't have a good balance between work-life and family-life; he lives to work, not relationships. We probably could have an okay-ish marriage for a few years until one of us gets sick of the other. Though we'd keep it civil after the divorce (or he'd run over me, who knows?)

Long Haul: Don't worry, bby girl, I'll treat you right. Biased opinion, but he's a down-to-earth realist; he's literally a normal middle-aged guy who's sick of his life! Even if his job isn't that well-paying, we could still make do. The nagging would get on my nerves, but nothing a career change or a few sessions of couples counseling couldn't fix. I don't see much love in this relationship though, more like "two people who happen to share an address" thing, and that's fine by me.

About the uh... "Decepticon that wants to enslave humanity" thing... Shhhh... Don't worry, your boy got this 😏.

Serious poll.

Vote for the most likely option, not your fave.

Of course, what makes a good partner varies from person to person, so feel free to present your argument (or not). There is no objective answer here.

[batsplat]

can we have a conversation about how much ktm is in shambles? cause i’m hearing they’re having so many problems financially and apparently even technically. it seems like they got stuck from the start of the season and they are just not progressing. i get that the last few circuits weren’t stop and go circuits that ktm prefers but the performances were really worrying. now, no offense to binder but he clearly has no backbone, but pedro already scolded them this weekend because they are not working the way they should, is there a chance they finally decide to take a risk and develop a project around him? because i feel like that’s what they need to do, a bit like yamaha or honda did for vale and marc. also i’ve thought about the fact that a lot of ktm engineers are leaving ktm for honda, if honda is actually working on a good project for 2027, is there a chance that perhaps a rider like pedro could get them out of the hole they got stuck into? cause i think that would be very interesting to see. of course only if he decides to leave ktm which i hope he doesn’t cause i’d like to see him become the first motogp wdc winner with a ktm. also i can’t really see where else he could go if one day he decides he’s unsatisfied with ktm

love asks that clearly come from the heart. I've been holding off on being too mean about ktm because in a way I do want to save it for after the NEXT race. we're in austria now!! ktm's home race! which they've actually been remarkably successful at, given they're the only non-ducati manufacturer to ever win in the modern iteration of this race in the premier class - first in that quirky last corner shoot-out courtesy of oliveira in 2020 and then in that bizarre slicks in the wet performance by binder in 2021. which, okay, unusual races and all that, but it's a track they should be doing well at!! binder got two second places here last year. if they flop here, then the alarm bells will really be ringing

I guess we can get into an argument about what 'flopping' would even look like. it's entirely plausible that, hm, the first 4-5 slots at minimum are locked out by ducati again - honestly, at the minute another ducati podium lock out feels like the expected scenario. I have heard there's a decent possibility of rain on sunday, but by this point of the year I've been promised rain quite a few times so I'll believe it when I see it. if it rains, sure, anything's possible. a positive result for ktm right now would probably be... a podium, right, which in itself is pretty damning - how are ktm still this bad at actually winning races? last year, binder got a podium at silverstone, which isn't a massively ktm-friendly track. this year, they didn't get even remotely close to that. the ktm defence argument goes 'well, look at what everyone else is doing'. silverstone is a very aprilia-friendly track and they had a pretty disastrous weekend themselves this year. the less said about the japanese manufacturers, the better. but... well, ktm was kinda supposed to take it to ducati this year. they finished last year on a very promising note, with what really should have been a 1-2 at valencia. (the fact that they didn't convert on that maybe should've gotten some alarm bells ringing about the ultimate potential of that rider line-up, but let's not get into that.) after binder's performance at qatar, ktm surely should have been determined to be in the title hunt. they are extremely not in the title hunt

the thing is, anon, ktm does know that pedro is their title winner. the idea of 'developing a project' around him is tricky - because to the extent that ktm is capable of that, they will do it!! they're not going to develop the bike in a direction that suits binder over him, for instance, or completely disregard his feedback or any of that. manufacturers can struggle with being reactive enough to rider concerns... my sense is that ktm likes to throw a lot of stuff at problems, it likes to flex its muscles and use a lot of data and come up with big update packages and all of that - and for all the progress they've made in their bike development, clearly all is not yet well on the in-season development front. (cf the whole chattering thing that ducati has gotten a handle on and ktm hasn't.) manufacturers do sometimes have a tendency to believe they know best and not listen enough to their riders, especially when there's a disconnect between the riders and 'the factory' that's actually designing the bikes. yamaha is an interesting example of that at the minute, where a lot of their current problems are so long-running that you can find their roots in stuff jorge and valentino were complaining about YEARS and years back. they've become a lot more reactive in recent years and did do a lot to tackle fabio's complaints about the bike's top speed... but by that point, they were in such a hole that just 'fixing the top speed' really wasn't enough to actually make a competitive bike. still, part of the reason why fabio's decided to stick with that project is he feels like yamaha is finally listening to him - and if they'd lost him, they'd really be fucked, so that has to count as at least a little bit of a W

in terms of the valentino and marc comparisons, they are just about different enough that it'll only take you so far. with valentino, the simple truth is that nobody today could do what he did for the yamaha project in 2004. he couldn't do that nowadays; it just isn't possible for a rider and his team to make that sort of instant impact anymore. motogp is so different now, with all the aero and devices and all the other stuff casey hates. the balance of power, if you will, has shifted pretty decisively from riders to engineers. also, valentino by that point was a fair bit more experienced and a lot of the credit has to go to his even more experienced team for what they were able to do with yamaha's carte blanche. a rookie, however gifted, just won't be able to provide quite the same level of direction. with marc... well, the honda was fantastic when he showed up! best bike on the grid! it's not exactly an analogous situation to pedro in that what honda needed to do was 'keep being good'. they did listen to marc's feedback and it did bag them enough titles to make it worth their while, but it also did not send their bike down a particularly happy development route for anyone else riding that thing - which ultimately as a manufacturer is not a situation you should want. honda was already losing the development arms race to ducati in the late 2010s, but giving marc a fast if capricious bike and relying on his natural talent to ride around the issues managed to disguise the problems for a while... or at least make them hurt less. all in all, I'm not really convinced 2010s honda is a model anyone should be particularly interested in copying

what ktm should do is listen to pedro, obviously. I assume they're already treating him as their championship contender elect, but if they're not then, yes, they'd be idiots. and given how long it took for them to actually confirm his place in motogp last year, I am open to the possibility that ktm are being idiots here. whether there's a workable system in place to actually make use of that feedback and continue to progress is more open for debate, and that's kinda what pedro went to the factory to check in on. pedro today was talking up a "big, big step" in the coming few races, in part due to the impact of their two test riders and the more ktm-friendly circuits to come, so it'll be interesting to see if it lives up to that. beyond that, who knows? ktm does have money and resources and a track record of success outside of motogp to give it faith, but of course this year has been a disappointment. (quick note: I have seen the stuff about ktm being in trouble financially and obviously that would massively change all of this, but at this stage it's quite hard to judge how seriously to take that - so the rest of this ask will assume that ktm will continue having a lot of money at its disposal. if they don't, my analysis is that they're probably fucked.) the first bit of the season made everyone doubt whether the bike was actually better than thought and the riders were simply not taking advantage of it - which a few signs last year like 'surely dani shouldn't be this competitive' and the whole valencia thing already pointed to. now, it's definitely less competitive than last year and even their superstar rookie can't do all that much with it, so that's not great. they do have a little time to play with here, but not that much. pedro's signed for 2025-26, but if ktm doesn't start next season more competitive, it won't take long for him to start looking around. and even though you can't do valentino 2004 things in quite the same way anymore, this is clearly going to be a project that needs an alien-level talent to actually get it over the line. they've kinda managed to fail upwards into a very strong set of riders next year and they should be able to extract a lot of them for bike development purposes, but also their rider management has traditionally been godawful so it remains to be seen how that'll work out

that being said, pedro will be fine! I mean, idk if he'll be ktm's first premier class world champion. if I had to put money on it, I'd say it's pretty likely, yeah? but the 'where would he go' thing isn't really a big concern. all the big names have kinda hunkered down (as have the teams who signed them) with two year contracts that take us very neatly to the next rule cycle kicking in, which everyone expects will majorly shake things up. while this whole japanese manufacturer situation is massively annoying, I would be shocked if at least one of them aren't regular race winners again in 2027, and hopefully will already be so before that. most manufacturers except maybe honda have at least one star rider they're intending to be a title contender in 2027, and ducati has two. they probably won't all stay in the same place (even if they all remain reasonably healthy in that time) and there's bound to be at least one manufacturer hunting for a big name. pecco will be in his late prime and possibly grey-haired, god knows what state marc will be in *taps wood*, we have no idea how the whole jorge aprilia situation will work out. maybe yamaha will be so competitive again that they actually decide they want TWO riders fighting it out for a championship and we get a proper throwback in blue to the good old garage cold war days - which is where my imagination sadly fails me because I can't picture fabio putting up a wall or yamaha not sucking. maybe, like you say, pedro is just what honda needs to... well, honestly I don't think he could get them out of this hole - but perhaps in a couple years time when honda is looking healthier again, he's the kind of rider that could make it a title winner again. it'll be a new world! if pedro is as good as we all think he is, then obviously any manufacturer would be thrilled to get their hands on him, not least to deprive the competition of having him. how old will he be in 2026? about nine years old, I think? if I had to guess, I do kinda see him being a title contender around 2026-ish, because I just can't quite picture ktm making the necessary leap by next year so 2026 feels like a good way of hedging my bets and trusting his sickening levels of natural talent to make up the bike difference. one of my big remaining doubts is... well, it's actually been quite a while since a new manufacturer has won a rider's title. the last time was ducati way back in 2007 when they nailed the new regulations cycle and also kinda lucked into signing the casey stoner, but ducati had already been regular race winners for quite a few years before that. capirossi was third in the championship in 2006. I suppose aprilia got vaguely close in 2022, but that was a chaos season we don't have much reason to expect to see a repeat of any time soon, and in the end they also didn't get that close. ktm really needs to be getting into race winning form soon if they want to be thinking about titles. it's ridiculous that it's been over three years since their last win in the dry, and nearly two since their last win full stop. if I were them, I would maybe consider winning some races, instead of continuing to lose them idk. let's see how they do on sunday, eh

[jackhues]

I want to get into hockey

Give me a sales pitch that will appease my hyperactive ADHD brain

OH. OH BUDDDYYYY. YOU CAME TO THE RIGHT PLACE.

this is gonna be leafs-centric as fuck but idc bcz THESE BLUE AND WHITE MFERS JUST WENT UP 2-0 IN THE SERIES AGAINST FLORIDA. i'm writing this fueled by nothing but the fucking adrenaline in my veins.

first off: congrats on your timing because playoffs hockey is here and in full fucking swing. the leafs made it past the first round and are back to fight the florida panthers in round two (the defending champs AND the team that took them out of the playoffs two years ago). it's redemption time bby.

now. let me give you a taste of what’s in store for your dopamine-hungry brain:

SPEED. this game isn't “guys jogging in shorts” fast. this is “five guys who go from smack the rubber disc to smack the other player in 2 seconds” fast. skating at up to 20+mph while trying to control a tiny black disc of rubber with a bent stick and not DIE in the process?? constant motion. shift changes every 40 seconds. no time to overthink. just vibes and violence.

RITUAL. BLOOD. GLORY. HOLISTIC LEVELS OF INSANITY. the stanley cup is the oldest trophy in pro sports in north america and you have to fight through FOUR ROUNDS OF WAR to touch it. beards grow (this is not a joke, it's a real thing). teeth are lost. friendships are tested (some good ol' former teammates angst hits like crack). you want a story arc? these weeks are it, and they lead to the greatest destination: lord stanley himself.

THE PLAYERS. you want types? stories? we got a buncha connors, at least two of them expected to be 'greats'. mcjesus (connor mcdavid)- he skates like physics don't apply to him. we got bedsy (connor bedard), who should probably be in school but instead carries the weight of an original six franchise on his shoulders. god's favourite child, captain canada, sidney crosby himself, will perform some random play that will have you wondering if he ever needs to retire. you want menaces? i can name far too many, who'll literally lick your favourite player and then score an ot goal. kirill kaprizov is a highlight reel with disney prince hair. the nhl is literally a boyband who can and will fistfight you (if the boyband had no vocal talent and was highly superstitious).

DRAMA. NARRATIVES. the leafs are a shakespearean tragedy with hot guys. they are the main characters of everything. they are the crown jewel of the nhl and also its clown car. decades of heartbreak. fans with trauma bonding levels of devotion. the weight of 1967 breathing down their neck every goddamn year. they are the sports equivalent of that emotionally unavailable man you know you shouldn’t love, but when he smiles, you believe again.

MY BOYSSS. the leafs players themselves: the core 4+1 and every other scrappy little guy that grows on you (miss ya greb). auston matthews and his wrist shots from hell- beauty and our captain and the boy who was deemed our saviour some nine years ago. mitch marner, dream linemate with hands blessed by the gods and versatile enough of a player to be used in any position (even goalie). willy nylander, from calgary alberta by way of stockholm sweden - who tf elseee???? jt, curse breaker extraordinaire, came back to his home city with a dream and his amulet. mo rielly, who's here to stay, who's got the most franchise playoff dman goals. i mean... these boys are everything to me.

THE WINSSS. do you want to feel like god reached down from heaven and flicked your serotonin switch ON? watch the leafs win a playoff round. the screaming. the hugging. climbing anything and everything just to fucking celebrate. vibes are vibing, and downtown toronto is lit after every win (esp during playoff season). bcz IT'S ALRIGHT AND IT'S COMING ON WE GOTTA GET RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE STARTEDD FROMMM 🎶

so yeah. get into hockey. let it chew you up and spit you out and leave you with skate marks on your soul. pick a team (the leafs. obviously.), scream at your TV, memorize jersey numbers, and fall in love with the most unhinged, beautiful chaos on ice.

[kittenintheden]

Not Your Sweetheart Ch 49 - Wonderwall

Not Your Sweetheart Chapter 49 - Wonderwall

The one where I absolutely delight in reminding everyone that Astarion has a dead average 10 charisma and an 18 CHA Tav gives him a run for his goddamn money in all the best and most angsty ways.

AKA "gets away with it bc hottie w/a body" meets "wins every social interaction and is also troubled and hot."

AKA the seducer gets seduced and he's mad about it, until he isn't.

But also it's a whole campaign? You know. Do not enter unless you're expecting true-to-life D&D -- everyone hot as hell but stupid as fuck. Get your top-shelf found family and hotties battling for flirt dominance tropes here. 

---

A look into Leon's past, a brief but loaded family reunion, and a discovery that's immediately ignored because we aren't ready to unpack all that. Read on AO3.

Commissioned piece of the dorks by the fantastically talented @/hamrikaa (see the full thing in Ch 10).

***

Leon Onufrio wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he was born with the Weave flowing through his soul. To some, that was an even more enviable gift.

When a scrappy young sorcerer with the world at his fingertips rose the ranks in Baldur’s Gate, everyone of import noticed. Many with interest, some with jealousy, and others with wariness. Charismatic, skilled, proud. Everything magic had always come easy to him and it showed. Leon didn’t lean toward arrogance, really, but he couldn’t help a little bit of self-importance after a lifetime of praise and open doors.

Which is why Victoria’s birth humbled him so.

It would be too far to say the child was an accident. She hadn’t been part of the plan at the time, exactly, but he’d known what he was doing when he charmed his way into a pretty patriar’s bed. Talent gets you far, but it never hurts to have insurance if life turns sideways. And turn sideways it did. The Gate’s nobility are hardly unaccustomed to the occasional scandal, but they are very accustomed to making scandals disappear. Leon’s lover took a sabbatical, his best ties to the Upper City were mysteriously severed, and some months later a parcel was delivered to his door.

The parcel contained five hundred gold, a tear-stained note full of melodramatic waffling, and an infant.

Magic was Leon’s forte. He knew exactly how to bend the Weave to his whims and use it to impress his way into good standing. But parenthood? The very first thing that didn’t come naturally. At all.

That first year was an endless struggle. Keeping the little one fed when she could have naught but milk every few hours. Sleepless nights punctuated with wailing every time he managed to dose for a few minutes. Exasperated fights with the people who used to give him work and had since been instructed to find another enchanter.

He wanted to hate the baby. He should have hated her.

But he found he could do nothing but love her.

[filamentlights]

Double Entendre

Clone x OC Week - Day 2, Quality Time || Echo x OC

Event Masterlist

SUMMARY: In a world of soulmates, shared pain, celebrity glamor and war, Echo finally plucks up the courage to write to his soulmate. 

Word count: 2.5k

Tags & Warnings: cursing, description of pain and injury, allusions to eating disorders, soulmate au, soulmates share pain & can communicate thru notebooks, actress OC, post skako minor but pre TBB, echo & hunter friendship

“So what’s your love language?”

Lavinia paused. Looking away from the interviewer’s expectant gaze, her eyes drifted down to the bag her manager was holding from where he stood beside the cameraman. Tucked inside, was a little blue banthaskin notebook, half empty. She smiled ruefully at the Twi’lek interviewer.

“It’s difficult to say, since I’ve yet to have a relationship. But I do enjoy spending time with my loved ones. Only when you spend time with another person, do you get to know them.”

“You don’t have a soulmate?”

Lavinia stiffened.

It was generally rude to ask around someone’s soulmate. The phenomenon where certain beings could feel the pain of another being in the galaxy had been a well-documented mystery for millennia. Pain would inexplicably correlate between two beings; if one was injured, another being, regardless of distance, would feel bits of that pain with varying degrees of severity. Phantom pain. Most people had one, but some didn’t. It was hard to say whether they simply hadn’t noticed pain that wasn’t their own, or if their soulmate was too young or already dead, or if they simply didn’t have anyone.

Recent years saw a company come out claiming the bond was of “fated pairs.” A frenzy over the idea of two beings perfectly compatible; be it romantically or otherwise, the company claimed it was some sort of soul bond.

“No, I don’t buy into the whole “fated pairs” business,” Lavinia laughed, trying to keep her voice from sharpening. The interviewer feigned an apologetic simper, covering her mouth with a purple hand.

She bought one the minute she was legally allowed to own a Soul Book, on her fifteenth lifeday. She still remembered the store, staring at the tacky pink and red posters advertising Love at First Word and One Book, Two Hearts Connected as she waited in line for three hours. She dumped five months worth of chores and allowance money, and the sales clerk placed a decorated box of gaudy tissue and ribbons in her hands. Inside, her very own Soul Book.

“No?” The interviewer pressed on. “You didn’t spend your hiatus looking? What if your perfect other half is out there?”

Lavinia had spent her entire sophomore summer writing in her journal as a fifteen year old, staring at each page intently for any hint of ink or graphite. She’d write a page and leave the next blank for the reply.

“Wouldn’t that be nice?” She flashed a winning smile to keep from gritting her teeth. Her first interview back, and she was already fed to the wolves. “But no, I took a hiatus to recover from a debilitating illness. Besides, I don’t believe in perfect other halves. It’s all marketing, that’s all.”

Her other was always in pain. It had been alright when she was younger. Bearable. A few aches and bruises with the worst being a broken bone or two. Her muscles also woke up sore more often than not, even when Lavinia had done nothing the previous day. Her twelve year old self had pieced together a rough idea from these phantom pains: someone scrappy and adventurous, who loved sports.

“But no relationship at all?” The interviewer frowned in a that can’t be right manner. Her fingers dug into her palm. “But you’re so pretty!”

“Hah, thank you.”

“What diet are you on?”

Her smile tightened.

“None.”

The Twi’lek sighed, but she caught the dissatisfaction in the woman’s eyes. She couldn’t really blame them, she was hardly giving them any gossip fodder for their ratings. Their production was C-list at best, they had no right to treat her this way. Still, Lavinia reigned in her temper. Her management said she was on thin ice as is.

“Well if you have a soulmate out there,” the interviewer said, gesturing towards the camera with a beatific grin, “what would you say? Want to give the Holonet a message?”

As Lavinia had grown older, and the pain had gotten worse, she grew less sure of that idea of her other. Pain would wake her in the middle of the night, something scorching through her stomach bringing her to curl over pathetically in her fresher and heave her empty stomach. Throbbing phantom bruises painting her chest. A broken hand. Blisters on her perfect, unblemished feet. But she’d managed it, managed to push forward with her career and star in some of the biggest pictures among A-list stars.

And then came the excruciating pain.

She smiled demurely, looking into the camera lens. Thoughts of the annoying interviewer faded in lieu of her…person. She never did know what to call them.

She’d spent seven months bedridden from pain. As she laid there in her glittering, penthouse apartment laboring to breathe through it all, only one thought fluttered through her barely conscious mind.

“Maybe, don’t get too hurt out there?”

The pages stayed blank, but the pain never left.

“Shut that thing off.”

Wrecker curled around the holoprojector protectively, like Crosshair was about to lunge at the thing to destroy it. Although, Echo thought as he eyed the irritated sharpshooter casting sharp glances at the image of some woman speaking, maybe Wrecker had the right intuition.

“Shut up Crosshair! You just don’t wanna admit it!”

“Admit what.”

“Admit that she’s the most beautiful, gorgeous, kind hearted, talented, pretty, uhm- and… and amazing-”

“You’re pathetic. It’s just a woman. She looks like she’s about to keel over. What’s there to like? Skin and bone?”

Wrecker let out a roar and then something crashed.

“That’s Lavinia Lue. Just the most brilliant actress ever,” Wrecker yelled. “And she’s recovering from a sickness! And you don’t know anything about her. She is amazing and kind-”

“Ugh.”

Echo grabbed his kit from where he’d left it by the back panels and made for the bunks as quietly as he could. Vaguely, as much as he disliked agreeing with Crosshair when he was being tetchy and insulting, he noted that she did look sunken. Grieved. It wasn’t in her face—her makeup was flawless, as you’d expect from a celebrity—but rather a collarbone that jutted out too much and the slight tremble to her slim hands. She smiled tightly at something the interviewer asked, rubbing slightly at her upper arm. His prosthetic throbbed.

Echo shook himself.

He walked into the bunks, sliding the door shut on Wrecker and Crosshair’s bickering. But even the hiss of the door didn’t keep him from hearing her answer.

“-be, don’t get too hurt out there?”

“You alright?”

Echo turned to Hunter who leaned against the wall near his bunk on the Marauder. “Oh yeah, just not used to the noise.”

“You get used to it eventually, but there’s no stopping ‘em once they get started. Cross is picky about his environment and gets annoyed at loud sounds, and Wrecker is…” Hunter paused, waving his hand in the air sheepishly while he searched for the right words.

“A lot?” Echo offered. Hunter grimaced.

“Yeah. They end up winding each other up. I’m used to it, but I hope it’s not too much for you.” Hunter patted Echo’s shoulder as he passed by his bunk. Echo shrugged.

“It’s fine.” Echo thought back to the roughhousing they’d do on the Resolute. Boys in blue scrapping over dumb betting pools and arbitrary arm-wrestling games. His heart panged. “Things were rowdy back in the 501st so it’s nothing new. I just need some time to adjust.” After everything, went unsaid. The two shared a commiserating look.

“Well, you did a great job on your first mission with us. I think you’ll fit right in.”

“Thanks, sarge.”

“Hunter.” He corrected, then smirked somewhat self-deprecatingly. “No one ‘round here has the respect to call me that, so might as well not start now.” Echo huffed knowingly.

“Hunter, then.”

“So, you gonna write in that?”

Echo glanced down at what Hunter was nodding at, faintly surprised to remember what he was clutching. A blue banthaskin notebook, its flimsi pages were warped and discolored with time and sun exposure. He’d bought it on a whim from a secondhand thrift shop. He didn’t know why. The Kaminoans didn’t bother with any of the “soul bond” stuff, claiming it was a load of unscientific skrag, despite the fact the books did usually connect people with the person sharing their pain. And even if it weren't, the clones weren’t sentient; they couldn’t have soulmates because they didn’t have souls. Lama Su himself had made a facility-wide announcement, the day the clones got wind of the Soul Books business, that clones were just organic material given energy. Nothing more, nothing less. Any phantom pains mentioned were dismissed. Echo’s stomach clenched, feeling a familiar pang within. It was clearly old, but the condition was still good. The sturdy leather was only slightly beaten, but could be brought back with some proper care.

“You think we really have soulmates? Our perfect other half? That it isn’t just a bunch of marketing nonsense a company did to sell books?”

Hunter’s eyes drifted off, seeming klicks away. The moment stretched on, verging on uncomfortable, but Echo could understand. He’d only just joined the Batch, but he’d noticed the sergeant’s tendency to just… pause. Long, pensive silences. Echo could only imagine how loud the galaxy was for him. Eventually, Hunter seemed to come back to the present, absentmindedly rubbing his chest where his heart sat.

“Feels real enough to be something.”

Echo nodded.

“Do you…” Echo trailed off. Hunter nodded, closing his eyes.

“I did, but I can’t really feel her anymore. Don’t know if she’s just gotten more careful or…” He rose from his seat, patting Echo’s shoulder again, but a touch gentler now in the wake of what they’ve both revealed. “Anyways, you should write them.���

The door hissed shut, and Echo was alone.

His stomach shifted uncomfortably in the wake of what Hunter revealed. He’d pegged them as hunger pangs right as they started, maybe a year back, and quickly realized they weren’t his own. They were sometimes bothersome, sometimes so intense it messed with his training. It had annoyed him the idea that there might be someone out there, a civilian who’d never labored or so much as grow callouses on their palms, with all the resources and opportunities at their fingertips choosing to starve themselves. But those thoughts went as quickly as they came. Who was he to judge.

Echo stared down at the small book in his hands.

He uncapped the latch, and a little needle extended out.

“Just prick the tip of your finger,” the shopkeeper had said when he walked up to the counter, book in hand. “One small drop should do it.” The aged Theelin then tossed in a dated ink pen into the bag, which Echo hadn’t even thought about.

“On the house,” he said with a wink.

Echo removed the glove from his hand and gently pushed his fore finger onto the needle until red bloomed. The latch glowed and then fell apart, allowing him to open the book.

For a minute, he simply sat there.

He flipped to the first page.

Hello. I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I can feel everything and it hurts. A lot. I wish you’d stop hurting. Maybe then I could actually focus on my exams.

I’m sorry. I realize that was awfully callous of me—I’m told my mouth is a permanent shoe box apartment for how often I put my foot in it. How rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Lavinia, but my family calls me Elu. Do with that information what you will (read: hopefully use it when you reply to me). I hope you are well and you get your ankle treated; it’s been twinging, it is clearly sprained. Do be mindful.

Hello. You’ve yet to reply, and that’s fine—maybe you haven’t bought a book yet—but I thought I’d pop back in and say hi. I got in a fight today at summer school. One of the boys stole my notebook and he insisted on seeing it. I got in trouble though for fighting him. It wasn’t my fault he didn’t like the black eye I gave him. It was my doodling notebook, but it made me consider bringing you to school so I can talk to you all the time. But then again, maybe not. If Brackly keeps making it a habit to steal my items, it might not be good to bring you along. We’ll see.

Mother’s putting me in acting and modeling classes. Says she’ll make a star out of me, one way or another. The girls there are rude, but it’s fine. I’m meaner anyways. I’ll be busier.

And then, at the bottom of the page, one small, frustrated scribble.

Hello, when will you answer? Actually, no, I might just get disappointed. It’s fine, I’m probably too mean anyways. Mother says that’s why I have no friends.

He could see from the neat little dates above each entry where she’d given up. A few years before she returned with longer, more journalistic entries. They became less expectant of him, but always leaving a page blank for his reply.

And then he got to the end.

Where she was writing right now.

He watched neat script curve and loop over the page, filling it in with orderly lines. Her handwriting was neat, clearly practiced in some calligraphy or penmanship class, with old timey serifs.

Hello. Today was my first interview back from my hiatus. The interviewer was like a goddamn akk dog smelling blood from me, looking for wounds to exploit for her shitty C-list production ratings. Mutt. If I were to extend this ridiculous metaphor, then the blood you're smelling isn’t mine you pathetic bootlicker. But, I shut her down pretty quick. Sorry, I’ve been complaining an awful lot. How are you? Today was one of the better days, no? It’s weird talking about the phantom pain of phantom pain. My arm throbbed a bit in the interview where your prosthetic is atta-

How did you know I have prosthetics? Echo couldn’t help himself from asking. Her writing paused. His heart jumped to his throat.

I didn’t feel it when they removed the limbs—you were probably under anesthetics—but I felt it when you woke up.

You felt it?

A beat.

Yes.

Oh God, Echo couldn’t breathe.

I am so sorry.

It’s fine. A pause. Well it isn't, I had to take six months off my job, but that’s money I can always make back. Besides, I don’t imagine you asked to be amputated.

No, I didn’t. Still, I’m sorry. You must have felt so much pain.

Yes, but I’m strong.

Of course.

It took a bit to recover, but I’m bouncing back.

I can believe that. First interview, huh?

You figured it out already.

It wasn’t hard. My brother’s a fan. You’ve got quite the groupie in him.

Her writing paused for a moment, and he liked to imagine she was laughing.

Well. Now that you know who I am, you should tell me who you are.

He hesitated.

My name is Echo. And then. I am a clone trooper.

A beat passed.

Hello, Echo. I am Lavinia. It’s good to finally meet you.

A/N: Every time I write crosshair I’m instinctively compelled to put his dialogue in italics because how else am I supposed to capture his unadulterated disgust? Also I tried to think of the most annoying little boy name for someone who’d steal someone’s journal and I ended up mushing together Brock and Bradley. Ok but real talk this one shot is a mess but the only successful thing it does is let me nerd out about the functions and implications of soulmate bonds and stuff like that. I’ve kinda lost the plot with the themes bc it was supposed to be like “they spend quality time writing to each other” and I would try and clean this up a lot and make it fit a bit better, but this is fan fiction and im lazy and also I need to write my day 3 entry sooo

@orangez3st @clonexocweek

[sol-consort]

(Blows a little kissey at the anon who talked about pervy alien roommates, thank you for giving me this itch again 💋)

Krogan roommate who treats you like glass to begin with. He's heard enough about how fragile and weak humans are, with their oh-so-sensitive nerve endings and small squishy bodies, he doesn't want you to think he's a brute if you're gonna be sharing a flat together.

But oh, he wasn't expecting this now, was he? One day he comes into the kitchen to find you on your tip-toes trying to reach something in the cupboard and you make a tiny bounce, he's not even entirely sure your toes left the ground but he wasn't really paying attention to thar when your whole body rolls with the motion and for a brief moment, the Krogan wonders if your body would do that when he's drilling into you from behind. He shakes his head, almost confused by where his thoughts had taken him in that moment, but they just will. Not. Leave.

It doesn't help that humans are physically affectionate and scrappy, you're always either leaning your head on his shoulder (or as close as you can get) so he can see the way your plush soft skin sinks around his hard plating, or the times you try and instigate a play fight with him. Always over something silly like a remote or who gets to pick takeout but even when he's actively trying to lose to you, to not hurt you, he always ends up wrapping you into a fullnelson or pinning you to the ground, keeping you in that position a little longer than is nessicary or appropriate, but even when you struggle and try to break out of his hold, you must like it to some degree, since you always come back for more, right? Mmif you're not careful he's gonna let his hands roam even more along your body next fight, you know that right?

Heaven help you when he ends up going into rut/heat.

The smile I had while reading this was that of a fool in love

We all desperately need a krogan roommate who's tying to be on his best behavior for us all the time out of insecurity we might view him as a "brute" as if krogan culture doesn't overlap a lot with humanity's.

How he heard so much about humans and their plump soft exteriors, he knew about the lack of shells, he just...expected their skin to be rough, sturdy or at least elastic to compensate for the lack of a proper protection.

But no, oh no. Humans are completely bare. Even a newborn infant krogan has thicker skin, hell, even the eggshell of a krogan egg is rougher than the human skin.

Nothing could've prepared him for the silky smooth it felt, how the plush fat would pudge and sink around his fingers whenever he'd press into it.

Your pliable body would sink around whatever surface it presses into, the subtle jiggle to your thighs as you walked.

Yet you acted so fearlessly as if you weren't a akin to a walking soft mound of flesh, a cuddly plushie playful attempting to wrestle with him on the couch over the last bag of chips as if he couldn't hold you down with his pinky alone.

No matter how careful he was, supressing his strength and purposely giving you the winning lead, you'd always end up with a bruise or two from pressing against the blunt spike on his shell, or a moving a limb too quickly and slamming against its the stone hard surface.

How are humans alive? He has watched videos about the animals on your planet. How did your squishy species survive the bears, sharks, gorillas, and lions. He knew the turians were idiots but he didn't think they'd be stupid enough to actually let your species make more than half of C-sec.

You're not as wise and stern as the women of his species, neither are you as dim and aggressive as the male krogans. No... regardless of gender, he found out that all humans are a weird mix of both

There is cleverness in you, but it's mitigated by an equal amount of carelessness. You're adventurous and curious but also cuddly and lazy. You have no qualms showing weakness, leaning against him so casually—he can't remember the last time he was hugged before you came into his life, and now he cannot get enough of you body sprawled over his lap.

Whatever the hell natural evolution is, he is immensely thankful to it, for the stars to align and make the humans as plump as they are bouncy. The way a simple jump enough to get all parts of your body moving in a roll, the way a ripple moves through your thighs and stomach when he pins you down on the couch.

The way he'd fist his cock at night while watching a video of a human riding an impossibly girthy dildo, it's almost the size of their forearm and yet their greedy hole takes it in so seamlessly.

Fuck, it's almost the size of his cock.

Imagining it's you bouncing on his lap instead, not allowing him to help move you up and down, instead stubbornly insisting to fuck yourself on his cock.

ripples going through your entire body as you bounce up and down, chest pressing against his face, almost touching the rough exterior of his shell. How his entire mouth is as wide as your torso, how his gaint tongue can swipe against both your nipples at once.

His cock squeezing tightly in your hot insides—he tightens his fist around it as—borderline painfully so, how he can trace it's outline slightly poking out from inside your stomach.

He's so close, he wants nothing more than to fill you with his cum. Resisting the urge to grab you by the waist and fuck into you like a flashlight, he needs to be gentle, you're beginning him to breed you, he needs to go slowly, you're climaxing around his cock, he needs to move with care, you're milking him for all he's worth begging for his cum, he needs to be–

A deep sound loudly leaves the back of his throat, akin to an animalistic growl as he empties himself into his hand. Stripes of white covering the sheets, pooling in the middle of the bed from the sheer quantity of it.

He takes a deep breath.

You might just trigger his rut early without realising it.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hey, I wanted to run a session of something like capture the flag with my group, like a PC group against PC group thing. Can you recommend a system for that? (Also, I love your blog, I found so many good games, so thank you!)

THEME: Capture the Flag.

Hello friend, your kind words are very much appreciated, and they encourage me to keep doing this thing! So I don’t have much that I think will allow you to play Capture the Flag out of the box, but I have a few competitive games that might work with a little bit of tweaking.

No Choice But To Win!, by Z.R. Capell.

With a focus on interpersonal relationships and teamwork, No Choice but to Win! is a tabletop RPG inspired by sports anime and dramas. Players form a team of competitors, while The Referee sets the scene and sets up the Matches with challenging Opponents. Win Matches by taking control of the Momentum, use powerful Moves to shift the tide, and deal with Hurdles that come between you and the Sport. When the bell rings out, when the ball goes up, when the cards are dealt, there's only one option: You have no choice but to win!

No Choice but to Win! is flexible, allowing you to make the Sport whatever you like: high school volleyball, life-or-death rock-paper-scissors, or giant robot basketball. Players can choose from six archetypes: the educated Ace, the flashy Diva, the trouble-making Firebrand, the supportive Libero, the scrappy Underdog, or the experienced Veteran.

This game looks like it’s an excellent option for what you’re looking for: the sport itself is up to the group, while the story takes place over a series of matches. While the base game expects the players to work together as a team, No Choice But To Win has a PVP addition! It’s called Scrimmage, and it has a free rules download to give you a quick peek at how it affects the regular game.

TheSpellJam, by Penn Van Batavia.

If there was time before the SPELLJAM, it’s been long forgotten. It has stopped wars, fostered peace, and became the only constant in our ever-changing universe. Today the SPELLJAM is the biggest event in sports-entertainment, it’s on air nearly every night . Every citizen craves this good, good bloodsport, though the inner workings are dicey. The threat of death on the circuit is close during every match. Will you gain fame & fortune before retiring into obscurity? Or will you succumb to the treachery that is the SPELLJAM!

This game is PbtA and it’s competitive, which stood out to me as two things that might make it a candidate. I think this game is going to need to be hacked in order to work properly, but I also don’t think you need to do a lot to make it work.

Some of the moves can be pretty well translated: you can Skate to get past an opponent, Jam to tag someone and send them back to their home territory, Prep to set up a strategy, and Flash to get the audience on your side. SpellJam also has the added bonus of magic that you can use during the game to give yourself an advantage, although I think it might also be easy to just eliminate this move from the set.

SpellJam runs with the expectation that all of the players are on the same team and might be experiencing conflict with each-other. That being said, PbtA games often shine when you allow players to turn the moves onto each-other, so if you add the ability to inflict consequences onto your opponents’ rolls, or set up obstacles for your opponents to have to overcome, SpellJam might have the potential to make the game you’re looking for.

Wacky Race, by DeReel.

A cartoonish demolition derby.

It's a narrative party-game where you adlib as sportcasters and play out wacky Contestants trying to take over each other and the ensuing mayhem.

This is originally a racing game, but I think it would be fairly easy to convert into a game about Capture the Flag - you just need to have the sportscasters improvise a number of moves that the supposed contestants are committing on the field. The mechanics mostly uses Rock, Paper, Scissors and a mini-game where the person who laughs first loses their advantage.

The sportscasters advice section can remain mostly unchanged (use incoherent metaphors, dive into odd contestant backstories, bringing up sponsors), while the contestants' vehicle descriptions might be changed out for descriptions of uniforms, flags, and game equipment.

All in all, if you want a goofy, funny game that prioritizes improv and running jokes, you might like Wacky Race.

Skates on the Street, by Filohazard.

It’s Summer 200X and the Jump City Metropolitan Area’s going to the dogs! With graffiti gangs roaming the city, divvying it between themselves, and corporate fat-cats pawing for the lion’s share, it’s on you to stake your claim and free the people!

This is another game that I think you could hack to play out a capture the flag kind of game, although I don’t know if it would work as good for a PVP kind of game. The rules feel inspired by Forged in the Dark, which is definitely a team kind of game.

I can imagine the players going up against a group of rival skaters to capture a flag in a city-spanning game that has obstacles like avoiding the police or resisting a corporation that wants to play rough. One thing I wish was different about this game is that the png file that you get when you download this game was a bit higher in resolution.

The Galaxy’s Greatest Gameshow, by fortwas.

You receive a mysterious letter in the mail. In glossy, sparkly lettering, it invites you to appear on “THE GALAXY’S GREATEST GAMESHOW” and advertises that you could win more money than you could possibly dream of. All you have to do is sign the waiver that releases the enigmatic “Funan Games LLC” from liability for injury, dismemberment, bankruptcy and/or death.  

The details are shockingly scant, the waiver is unspeakably long, and you’ve never even heard of this gameshow. Maybe the glitzy logo impressed you, maybe you’re desperate for money, or maybe you’ve just always wanted to be a winner. The reason doesn’t matter: you recognize this as a chance of a lifetime and sign your name on the dotted line.

Sometime later, you wake up in a strange room full of flashing lights, big band music, and mysterious doors.  

 The crowd goes wild.

If you want a long, drawn out game that has multiple pieces, you might find some use in this game. The game as written is structured as a gigantic game show that pits the player characters against each-other in order to earn “points” by forcing them to compete in various different kinds of challenges. If you wanted to make this a game about capture the flag, I think what you would need to do is create a mapped-out territory with different challenges for different zones. The characters would have to try to overcome the challenges in order to get closer to the zone that has the flag, while opposing players would get to have a say in what the challenge consists of or get a chance to react if their opponent fails.

Also...

I think Visigoths vs. Mall Goths has a lovely little set-up that would be great for pitting some teenage goths against each-other in a big day-long game of capture the flag. In fact, I think the included adventure Quoth the Raven: "Whatever" actually gives you a lot of tools that would go very far towards giving you a Capture the Flag kind of game!

[aeh2611]

Qualifying Takeaways 🏎️

Disappointing result for Ferrari. I refuse to read too much into it considering the margins are so small and Melbourne isn’t all that representative so let’s focus on the positives:

1) (Likely) wet race tomorrow. It’s been a while since we had one of those in Australia and as tho the field weren’t chaotic enough already with everyone so close to each other and all the rookies coming in this season, it’s probably going to be an absolute banger. Can’t wait.

2) Charles didn‘t get that second lap hooked up, so he didn’t get to benefit from track evolution for his time on the board. If he had, would it have been enough to challenge the top 4? Who knows. But I highly doubt he‘ll be starting P7 for the rest of the season.

3) Yuki and Alex. Even tho it did kind of hurt that they demoted the Ferrari’s, I am actually really happy for both of them. Yuki is still on the lookout for a new team and with all that chatter about wether or not he had the skill to step up to the senior team at Red Bull, it’s good to see that that apparently motivated him rather then discouraged him. He also happens to be quite solid in the wet, so let’s see how it’s gonna pan out tomorrow. Regarding Alex: obviously I do hope that Carlos does well at Williams (and he seems to be), but Alex has stuck with that team through thick and thin now. He is a fantastic driver and I was a little scared of him getting outperformed in a way that would hurt his career prospects. So yeah. Encouraging results for both of them.

4) Bortoleto and Hadjar: Really convincing performances. I am so glad they got to show a little what they can do, despite being in cars that I expected to be further behind on the grid (even though that appears to be truer for the Stake car than the VCARB for now).

Out of the top team drivers I do feel most sorry for Liam. Kimi’s session was also scrappy but he‘ll be fine, the damage to the bib he had was clearly more bad luck than anything else, he‘ll be okay. I am a little scared for Liam. We have seen before what a lack of confidence in that Red Bull can do to a driver, and how bad performances can pile on. He‘s also under so much scrutiny online, so I hope that he‘ll be able to shake this off and move on.

In conclusion: Mixed feelings I guess. Exited for a good season. I am a little scared that McLaren might run away with this one, but cautiously optimistic that several teams might give them a run for their money (the fields was closer together at times than in F2 which is a spec series. That’s crazy). I am obviously feeling a little down about the Ferrari result, but I don‘t think it’s time to write the season off yet. I‘ll just chill. As a very wise man from King‘s Lynn once said: „Top 4 crashes then we win.“

So in that spirit: Forza Ferrari (I guess).

[blackmoonlightexpress]

Shui Long Yin 《水龙吟》 - What we know so far about this massive project

By now many of you have heard about Shui Long Yin 《水龙吟》, Luo Yunxi's upcoming and third project with the studio behind Till the End of the Moon. Here's my read on the announcement earlier.

1. Good news - It's going to be largely the same creative team behind TTEOTM. 

You have Wang Yirong as Lead Producer & Artistic Director, Huang Wei as Costume Designer, Wang Haiqi as Action Director, Tsang Mingfai as Makeup Director, Huatian for World Concept (also known for Ashes of Love and the Untamed). Basically, we'll see the return of the brilliant minds behind the Dunhuang-inspired costumes and hour-long epic fight sequences.

It's a good sign they're holding most of the team together. A lot of great directors, like Christopher Nolan, Tim Burton, David Cronenberg, work with the same creative talent over and over again. There's certainly an argument that you produce better work when you collaborate with people you trust and know well.

2. Up and coming Director Chen Zhoufei will make up some of the deficiencies of TTEOTM in the cinematography and lighting departments.

Chen Zhoufei started out as a cinematographer in films with the likes of Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. More recently he directed The Forbidden Flower (2023) and Double Tap (2021), which, if nothing else, is beautifully and stylistically shot.

It's interesting they've moved away from the old school Hong Kong directors they used in Immortality and TTEOTM. Directors from the TVB system are known to be more experienced, scrappy, and reliable when it comes to working within budget (which is why they're favored for big xianxia productions), but they've also been criticized for falling behind on technical execution and artistry.

It is as the industry article I shared predicted - Otters Studio is a relatively inexperienced player, but they can quickly close their gaps by bringing new blood to the team.

3. They're bringing a new Art Director, Zheng Chen from Lost You Forever.

This isn't all that surprising given that Luan Hexin, TTEOTM's Art Director, is with Huanyu, Bai Lu's management company. (In fact there was a bit of real life drama when Yu Zheng, Bai Lu's boss, publicly called out TTEOTM's producer for not refuting false rumors that Bai Lu was only cast because the production wanted Luan Hexin, arguably Huanyu's biggest asset, as part of her "dowry".) Now it's sad to see award-winning Luan go, but he is best for authentic period sets and IMO not the most suited for xianxias.

Instead, they've tapped Zheng Chen, who most recently worked on Lost You Forever, which I have yet to watch. With that said, some of the sets look great to me, with bold use of colors, and I can already see this pairing well with Chen Zhoufei's aesthetics.

4. This time they're not working with screenwriter He Fang, instead going with Lin Conghe (unofficial)

He Fang is the lead screenwriter behind TTEOTM and Immortality (everyone who's read Immortality's screenplay will know it's all but a guaranteed hit) and in my opinion one of Otter's greatest assets. She's brilliant at staying loyal to the spiritual core of source novels, while weaving convoluted plot points through a more robust background story and logic.

It's a slight disappointment that she won't be back, but it's also not entirely surprising. TTEOTM and Immortality are both big, female-oriented fantasy romance IPs. Meanwhile Shui Long Yin's IP is quite dated, lesser known, and incomplete, so I'd expect that the drama will only be loosely based on the original. While we don't know much about Lin Conghe, he did recently work on the Blood of Youth sequel, where he was the lead screenwriter alongside author Zhou Munan, so he might actually be a better choice for this genre (xuanhuan wuxia).

5. The way HunanTV & Mango announced the drama is unusually high profile, indicating that this is one of the platform's biggest projects.

It's rare to have one of China's biggest hosts announce a new drama that hasn't even started shooting or released any details yet live on prime time TV. (Usually a drama's official announcement comes out on the day of its booting ceremony, if not during its production or at its wrap ceremony.) It's even rarer for a costume drama to announce a TV platform at this stage. These days it's quite difficult for costume fantasies to get a coveted TV airing slot given genre restrictions and additional censorship requirements. Typically you do not find out officially whether it will air on TV until literally right before it airs.

Before the official announcement, rumors have already been circulating that there's a bidding war behind the scenes for this project, with Mango and its parent HunanTV outbidding Youku in the end. Mango/HunanTV is already the market leader in variety shows, but is behind the other three platforms in scripted content. Apparently, they've recently received an injection of funding to shore up their drama department and now investing in tentpole projects that can help them gain share. Clearly they saw what TTEOTM did for Youku.

6. There's another interesting player in the mix: China Mobile and its subsidiary Migu. 

It appears that China Mobile (one of the most valuable companies in China and a state-owned enterprise) has invested in the drama, which will be made available on its online video platforms. Apparently, the last time China Mobile invested in a drama, they sent text messages to every user to publicize it when it aired. Now not sure if this will happen (it's not patriotic drama after all), but they've already been promoting the drama through their gazillion affiliate social media accounts. Either way, it should be a good thing for the drama's distribution to have such an influential backer given Mango's lower daily active user.

7. They're making it super clear that Luo Yunxi is going to be the dominant male lead in this drama

In the first Weibo post, they only announced the title, Luo Yunxi, and the airing platforms. In the second Weibo post, where they announced the rest of the creative team, they still did not announce the other actors! Of course, this is likely because Luo Yunxi's company (which is really just him) bought the source novel's IP and is credited as a co-producer. (They don’t have any production capabilities at all, so Otter will likely be quarterbacking this.)

This suggests, like many who have read the novel already know, that Luo Yunxi will have by far the biggest part. The other roles, including the female lead role, will likely be smaller and revolve around the main character.

8. Shui Long Yin is already generating a lot of hype.

To date its Weibo announcement racked up >1M likes (more than double that of TTEOTM). There's already a very active Douban group debating all the rumors, most importantly whether Luo Yunxi will use a wig or his real hair (a highly divisive topic). The new drama has even been reported by China Daily, China's state media facing the international community, which is again exceedingly rare. China Daily doesn't usually report on entertainment news, and most hit shows don't get mentioned even after airing.

There's always a big risk with productions with this much anticipation so early in the process, from fan wars and disruptive stalking on set to accusations propagated by competitors that can invite more state scrutiny. Fingers crossed that the team knows what they're doing and can weather all the storms that will undoubtedly come its way.

9. Finally, I remain cautiously excited.

Production quality will likely be great, with such a strong creative team and financial backers with deep wallets. My main worry is that it'll be beautiful, but boring. For this genre (xuanhuan wuxia or basically wuxia with high fantasy elements), it's really important that the story moves fast and the underdog hero keeps outsmarting or outfighting everyone else in a way that gives viewers a sense of exhilaration. It'd be all too easy for the story to get bogged down by a large cast of unmemorable characters and a meandering plot. Otters Studio is usually great at delivering fast-paced high drama (just based on TTEOTM and the screenplay of Immortality), but they're working with a different screenwriter this time and it's not easy to be a consistent hit maker. Let's hope they stick to their intuition and continue to present stories and characters that excite viewers.

[mostlyvoid-partiallyflowers]

Okay I just speedran The Sunshine Court in like 12 hours. I will be rereading it soonly and giving more coherent thoughts but here’s my main takeaways:

- Thought #1: Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck this book exists. I am on the floor I’m so fucking excited.

Spoilers below the cut

- I absolutely love that we get both Jean and Jeremy POVs. It’s great especially because Jean is an oblivious and traumatized and if we just see things through his eyes we would never get to see Jeremy PINING like an absolute icon. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s about the pining, the waiting, the yearning. I’m simple man, I like my books gay, angsty, and with tension you could cut with a knife. This delivers on all accounts.

- I love getting to see the end of tkm from Jean’s perspective. Getting to see him watch the Foxes v Ravens game was incredible. I’m a very big fan.

- Renee and Jean time! Renee giving Jean her cross necklace. I’m in tears, I’m dead, I’m on the floor. It’s not the right time for us 😭. Excuse me? I’m unwell.

- Kevin Day, queen of my heart! Getting to see how someone other than Neil canonically sees Kevin is an absolute treat for me. Jean’s weakness for beautiful men has become known. Me too Jean, me too.

- Jeremy, light of my life, I can’t believe you’re rich. At least your family sucks because I don’t think I could take it if your family was wealthy and nice.

- Jeremy + Jean meeting for the first time. Jeremy trying and failing to play with a yo-yo. I’d die for you. They are ADHD 🤝 Autism solidarity me thinks.

- Montana has a pro Exy team which is not at all plausible but I’ll let it slide because one Montana mention for the win and two the team is called the Rustics which is absolutely what we’d call a pro sports team if we had one. The only reason Montanan’s at large would commit to indoor lacrosse is that Kayleigh Day was Irish and so solidarity.

- Laila and Cat, my beloveds. The description of their apartment has me yearning for the same. They have a bay window with a window seat okay. That’s like in my top three desires for a home.

- Carboard cutout dog with a classic Nora pet name. I’ll love Mister B forever. I love how Jeremy keeps moving him around. I love how Jean hates it.

- Trans characters! Poly characters! Nonbinary characters! Nora, my birthday has come a little late but damn this was a gift!

- I am absolutely pronouncing Jean wrong in my head probably 70% of the time.

- I’m so fucking angry at the Ravens. My blood is boiling and I want to cry. Jean deserved better, Kevin deserved better, Riko deserved better. All the Ravens deserved better. I want to put Tetsugi Moriyama into a blender and feed him to the crows.

- Jean was 16. I’m absolutely incandescent with rage.

- Jeremy is so patient with Jean and I will forever love him for that.

- This book was a lot shorter time frame than I was expecting, mainly because I keep forgetting there’s going to be another one.

- The food control but is driving me crazy. It makes me so fucking mad. Let my boy eat. I want him to be happy.

- Jeremy has seen Jean looking 👀 ummmmmm hello? “More exclusively than you do, I think.” I’m on the floor.

- Laila buying Jean a sex toy?!? Oh my god. What would she even get him? I feel like he deserves a vibrating cock ring or something fun like that. That way service top™️ Jeremy Knox can use it on him when they finally get together.

- I love seeing Neil from Jean’s perspective. It’s funny how different he is from my perspective and Jean’s/everyone else’s. I’ve spent so much time thinking about him from Andrew’s pov that it’s weird seeing him through anyone else’s. Everyone is like this scrappy irritating son of bitch is gonna get what’s coming to him, and Andrew is like, well I can’t not fuck him.

- The second Jean mentions Drake to Neil. And then Neil immediately calls a hit out on Gr@yson. Neil, you will always be famous to me.

- Jean-Yves! I hope he starts using his full name again at some point.

- Elodie :(((((( I can imagine what Jean’s going through and I am so afraid for him. If he keeps pushing all these feelings down he’s going to break sooner or later, but probably sooner.

- Jeremy’s unconditional support of Jean has my whole heart. Jean has friends now. I’m crying.

[riacte]

Space Opera AU dashboard simulator round 3 (but it gets a bit unhinged 😳) (post 1 and post 2)

🗣️ bisexual-minerals-deactivated3467821

so there's this pretty lumian girl in my class. she's usually quiet and unassuming, but everyone knows she has an incredibly handsome lykos guy picking her up after class in his stupid scrappy clothes and blue sunglasses in his roaring glider and they run away to do whatever. void i wish that were me. what would i give to have the freedom to zoom in a sickass glider with a hot boy/girlfriend. i am absolutely sickkkkkkkkk with want. i want her life sooo bad i'm going crazy i'm going to thrwo up

🗣️ bisexual-minerals-deactivated3467821

why is this old post gaining notes. and why did my highschool groupchat explode with 564 notifications overnight

🗣️ bisexual-minerals-deactivated3467821

MY EX CLASSMATE IS IN ET1??? she's a gunner now good for her and HOLY SHIT HER PARTNER LOOKS EVEN HOTTER THAN BEFORE WOOOOOOOO

🗣️ bisexual-minerals-deactivated3467821

wow 👍

b

isexuality

🍃 frogottenlands Follow

seeing this post is like seeing a soldier in the trenches during the 4th intergalactic war. first bisexual casualty of the combined power of queen of hearts and red king. it was so much that it deactivated op. i hope op is doing good these days

🪓 handoftheking

I mean, I totally get it. I would also be sick with want

#et1 #et1blr #dogwarts racing team #i can hear everyone screaming at me in the notes already #by the way: queen of hearts >>>>>>> red king. sorry ren

5,498 notes

🚀 renthepilot

Hello good people of Sunblr! <3 <3 do girls find it attractive if I can count to twenty in different languages >.> RD

❤️ falsewell

no

🚀 renthepilot

Stranger, this is immensely rude!! Please #GetOff my post. Your opinion is not welcomed. RD

🚀 renthepilot

!!!! IM SORRY FALSIE I DIDNT READ I DIDNT REALISE IT WAS YOU!!! >0< :(((( RD

❤️ falsewell

lol it's good

i'm throwing you in jail for one thousand years. byeeeeee ren

🚀 renthepilot

🥺🥺🥺??????!?!?!?!! you LEAVE me?? FOREVER!?!??!!? OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!

❤️ falsewell

nah probably not forever. maybe like twelve years. ten if you behave

🚀 renthepilot

:DDD

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

👗 takenbyrk Follow

OMGGGGG RK'S ACTUAL SUNBLR?? hiiiiiiiiiii rk you're attractive no matter what you say you're so handsome and gorgeous kyaaaaa~~ please be my boyfriend uwu >.<

#rklove #rkboyfriend #et1 #💞 #🐶

671 notes

💙 saltair Follow

It's so cute how H and Fruit helped QoH and RK win their first GPs and now they're coaching them back 🥺💙🦇 they've really came full circle

💙 saltair Follow

It's so cute how H and Fruit helped QoH and RK win their first GPs and now they're coaching them back 🥺💙🦇 the tables have turned fr

💙 saltair Follow

It's so wholesome how H and Fruit helped QoH and RK win their first GPs and now they're coaching them back 🥺💙🦇 they've came full circle fr

🎀 pinkjupiter Follow

girl help. i think one of my mutual's been stuck in a time loop for almost a year now. the only thing she's been posting ever since she went to the red desert is that blue bats gp from forever ago. come back from the war bestie, we miss you so much <3 <3

🎀 pinkjupiter Follow

oh nvm. i hope you stay in that timeloop forever. is the timeloop fun. i really hope it's fun bc it's fucking awful out here

#a bit of lighthearted humour in these times #also of all ages to get stuck at in a loop, it HAD to be 17. truly one of the worst ages #i hope she's doing okay #i hope i won't be old and wrinkly when you finally escape from the timeloop #we promised to watch the star knights trilogy finale... and now they're making a fifth movie #at least your ship became canon in the fourth movie lol

208 notes

🐬 everytimewetouch Follow

Hi Orbitors! Welcome to Sunblr! Hope you find a nice place to stay after the great Orbit blackout :)

🔺dancefloortwink917 Follow

Just arrived here... there's more treebark truthing than I expected 😂😅

🪩 cuntymirrorball Follow

Doesn't Orbit have that totally disrespectful conspiracy theory about the Blue Stalker over at o/bluestalkertruth? Pot calling kettle back huh

🔺dancefloortwink917 Follow

Well well well. 😇

And all of it happened before your cringe yaoi boys could even kiss each other on the cheek COMMON L

#get wrecked treebark truthers! #big W for us orbitors #who's in copium hell now huh? #:)

10,761 notes

🏎️ overtakes Follow

my only wish for the new et1 season is that et1twt learns to make their own gifs instead of stealing from sunblr

🏎️ overtakes Follow

still relevant 10 years later lol

🍋 lemonadesyrup Follow

holy crap it's THE overtakes?? we all thought you were dead?? like the streets were saying you were last seen at a distant fuel station in sector 451 and then you vanished from all social media

🏎️ overtakes Follow

lmao are y'all still believing my ex-cousin and her fake stories? i didn't die. i never died

🍋 lemonadesyrup Follow

i'm glad you're safe but i'm still very confused

🏎️ overtakes Follow

it's not confusing! death is merely a social construct ^_^

#but you can imagine i resurrected myself after hearing people on et1twt were reposting my gifs without credit #im putting an ugly watermark over everything now

3,667 notes

[laseratingfist]

hm maybe controversial but i think the reason luka is a medium male model and not super huge and jacked is part of his underdog appeal. he's a little guy, from a small town, with a visible disability, and he will still kick your ass and smile the whole time. he's a scrappy stray dog that you don't immediately expect to win, so of course it's cooler when he does.

[courfaeriedust]

Okay I would like to talk about Sam the Quarterback in Kaleidotrope, because I adore her and also her arc is so funny to me.

So this is her big realisation moment:

I think this is one of my favourite pieces of Sidlesmith ridiculousness because it’s just, what??? This team have won basically every game intentionally playing badly, until the timing is dramatic enough to stage a desperate comeback. Every game. Every game, and they just think it’s all because of the Sidlesmith Magic. Like, what is up with that??? Do they think they’re a really bad team and it’s only because of the Magic that they’re able to win? Are they just fucking around til the last minute? Are they instructed to do this by their coaches in order to keep the football-watching population of Sidlesmith happy and secure that the tropes are still going as planned??

And what’s it like to play on that team? If they’re winning every game they must be highly ranked (I am very British please feel free to correct me on how American College Football works), so I assume the entry expectations are high? Do they recruit and then the freshmen come in like ‘yeah I can play good football’ and then get told ‘sure, but not until the final quarter’? How frustrating must that be?? But Sam seems to genuinely be shocked by the idea of playing some other way. But imagine also playing against this team. You start playing. You’re winning easily. You get cocky and then Sidlesmith start playing well suddenly and oops they’ve smashed up your lead and is this even the same team, suddenly you’re way outmatched and there’s nothing you can do and then oops you lost, even though no one should have been able to make up for that lead you had during the first three quarters. And you hear that they’ve done it to other teams, no matter how good. And so the next time you play against them you keep your guard up, you warn all your rookies. They don’t believe you after the first quarter, but you know what you’ve seen. You keep the lead up; Sidlesmith get some scrappy points but nothing nearly to the level you remember them being at last time. And then when you’re begging your team not to let this lull you into a false sense of security, BAM, Sidlesmith take it seriously again and even though you play your hardest you suddenly can’t do anything to keep hold of the ball. AGAIN. And you ask them about it afterwards, because this must be some kind of joke, right? They must be mocking you, or maybe they think you’re a terrible team and they don’t want to make you look too bad. But no, it’s none of that — or at least, they don’t say that. They just talk about the “Sidlesmith Magic”. All of them, with no conferring. If it’s a joke they’re all incredible actors. You seriously wonder if it’s some kind of performance-enhancing drug, this magic stuff, but you find out another team had accused them of that, demanded drug tests, and had to drop a bunch of their own teammates as a result. All the Sidlesmith team had been indisputably clean. So you’re left with nothing, no answers, a demoralised team, and thousands of questions about what the hell the Sidlesmith team are up to.

This got so very off track, but anyway: Sam’s incredible, what the actual fuck is up with that whole thing, and I’m so excited for Sam’s future where she just obliterates every single team in the league.

[varsity-sportsbeing]

PLD EN Interview Pt 1

Podcast link

High draft pick expectation woes, game priorities. Transcripts below the cut. I’ve kept the original podcast section titles where my selections align with them.

Summary: The expectations of going surprisingly high in the draft clearly weigh on him. A few times, he brings up the idea of focusing on the big picture over points - preparing for the NHL, winning games, etc. They also bring up his penalty minutes and the pros and cons of playing a more physical game.

There is also a funny story towards the end. Torts told him to cross check Ryan Kessler first face off of a game. He knew it was gonna be a scrappy game from there out but did it anyway. Had a rough time from there.

"Rookie Records" 19:54-21:52

Hosts: I want to talk about your first year quick right. So you're playing Juniors you're like the leading scorer in the Q at 16. not bad not bad and then you go third overall like Dan said, behind Matthews and Laine. And you show up in Columbus, 20 tucks 48 points you break Rick Nash's record for most goals break Werenski's record for most points as a rookie in franchise history. How did you take that confidence of your success in juniors and just translate it to the NHL immediately, what was that like?

PLD: Yeah honestly, it was tough because I went back [to the Q] at 18. And those - Matthews and Laine, they played [in the NHL] at 18 and they had really good years.

Hosts: yeah yeah

PLD: Yeah people are looking at you again, like oh this - and I wasn't even supposed to go third. I remember I got drafted, and you know Matthews went and everybody applauded. Second Laine went, everybody applauded. Then I went and everybody's like "What, huh?" You could just see everybody looking, like "Who is this guy?"

So I go back to Junior. Statistically I didn't have a better year at 18 than I did at 17, and you know nobody's watching Cape Breton play at that point, you know, from anywhere else but Cape Breton. So you know people are looking at the stats sheet like, "Oh, he went back junior. He's a flop. He's not going to do well, blah blah blah." I go to World Juniors. I didn't have a great tournament. I didn't even score a goal. People are like, "Oh, he's he's awful. Why did they draft him?" So I think that whole year - because I was playing good hockey, just like I wasn't - I was playing to prepare to play in the NHL at 19. I wasn't playing just to score as many goals as I could. So I think that whole year helped me out.

Then at 19, I come in - and you know Tort's camps, the hardest thing I've seen.

Hosts: Yeah, super easy and chill?

PLD: Yeah my first year, I wasn't ready. Like I showed up, and I was like, "I'm ready for this," and three days, in I couldn't skate. I couldn't move. So you know [my second year] I was ready at 19, and then yeah, I had a good year. I started playing with Panarin, which you know was was great. I got to learn a lot from him, and playing with him was fun. And guys like Atkinson, Josh Anderson, guys like that. Also living with David Savard, I gotta say that was the best decision I've ever made in my life. But yeah it was - a lot of people had a lot to do with with that first year in the NHL and even to this day.

[talk about staying with Savard and his family for a while]

23:59-26:20

Host: um dude you just said something that I think is super important for people to hear. you were talking about that final year in Junior and you were playing hockey to prepare for the NHL not put up points. yes dude I think that is such an important thing for hockey fans everywhere to hear the difference of - can you talk about that a little bit? like how is that different when you get drafted, and you're like all right I'm a top five pick here I'm going to the show soon - how does your mindset change? and what is that preparation and the way you change your playing style like

PLD: Yeah, I mean well my dad's a coach, so he's - he's probably the number one person in my life in terms of you know, helping me become who I am today. And I remember when I was in m***t he told me, because it was my draft year then too, he told me, "You know, scoring goals is great, but winning games is the most important. So be the player that, when a scout goes to see you, he says, "You know he does everything well. There's nothing - yeah there's nothing he can't do. Yeah, there's some stuff he could do better, but there's nothing that he's missing." And um, you know, sometimes it's boring, like having a good stick, being in the right spot, being the F3 instead of diving in. So that was like uh, always in my mind.

Then at my draft year, I got put - I was on the wing my whole life, never played center. My dad wanted me to play center. I didn't want to. I thought it was too complicated, too hard. I was like, "I'm a right winger and that's it." Then I got put, halfway through my season, my draft year, I got put Center, and I was like, I told my coach, "No. I - I don't want to." He's like, "Yeah, you're gonna." I was like, "Okay." You have no choice, so you know, I played center, and that was one of the best things that ever happened in my career, I think because you know, you get to play a little bit more defense, you get to think - you have to think a bit more. You have to support your D's and everything. But yeah I think, like I said, you look at some of the guys - I mean, one's right here: Kopitar.

Hosts: yeah

PLD: Phil Danault. You know guys like that, that offensively, defensively they're so good. It's just, it's just as fun to watch, you know? And could they score five more goals a year, or 10 more points? Maybe. But would that lead to more wins? Probably not. So guys like that are - have always been - you know, guys I've looked up to and tried to to become.

[discussion of Mullet arena & a few other arenas and fan bases]

31:51-37:45 PIM Life

Hosts: Well, speaking of hits, actually one thing I wanted to ask you about - and maybe it's um a little bit - we were talking about the switch to Center, but since you got to Winnipeg your PIMs are way up dude, like way up. So I wanted to know if that - like not that you're out there looking for a penalty. But is being more physical, playing a heavier game, roughing it up, you know mixing it up in front of both nets - is that, was that a conscious effort? Was that a coaching decision, or are you just a goon now? Maybe you're a goon now.

PLD: I only had one fight last year so I don't know if I call myself that. But uh, I mean yeah. Would I love to take less penalties? For sure. But you know, I think in the NHL, you know, if you're getting a lot of penalties, I'm drawing a lot of penalties too. So there's that balance of it. Like obviously, it'd be great to finish a year with zero penalty minutes. Is that gonna happen this year? Absolutely not. Like there's no chance.

Host: And you wouldn't be playing the right game I don't think, right? Like you got to smash.

PLD: And the way I play, I don't start a game thinking, "Alright, I'm gonna get a penalty here tonight." I never - I don't think I'm ever due for one.

Hosts: Yeah, like "You know what, haven't been in the box in a while, I'm gonna just go and absolutely crinkle someone off the puck."

PLD: Yeah but you know the way it goes um, I always - my dad always taught me, you know, you sometimes just gotta go out there, and if it's a hit, if it's a cross-check, if it's a scrum - you got to get something going. And you could score a goal, you could have a big hit, big fight, or just a scrum.

So yeah I don't know, it's - I grew up, like we'd go out to the the frozen pond. And there's two rinks. There's the normal size one that we play you know, 12 on 12. You know, there's no rules. But then there's one right next to it that was probably, you know, 15 feet by 8 feet. We'd play 4v4, and might as well not put a puck out there. We would just hit each other, and it would always finish in a fight, and it would always finish with somebody crying going home with a bloody lip or a bruise or whatever. And um, that was fun to me. That was really fun. I always loved that. My dad made me watch Broad Street Bullies when I was like 12 and I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

So yeah I mean I'm not, I don't think I'll ever win - is it the Lady Bing?

Hosts: yeah yeah

PLD: I don't think I'll ever win the Lady Bing in my career, but you know I'm okay with that. I think it's fun sometimes to-

Hosts: Yeah, well you got the frame for it, dude you know when I was young, I was just like, I was always pretty tall. I wasn't the tallest of my crew till later in life. I had a late growth spurt, but I, for whatever reason because he[other host] played D he was always banging people around. But I played forward and I was like I grew up watching the danglers and thought that was cool, but then I got big, and I'm in you know playing Junior's like trying to like walk everyone at the blue line and my coach is like, "Can you hit somebody?" Like "No, I just want to be the small guy," and I never did. so I think it's important, I think it's important to use that frame and bang around, dude, you know? It impacts the game in a lot of ways.

PLD: Yeah it's fun.

Hosts: And there are just games, like man you said it there are games where it's just getting chippy, and I love that. When it's like, alright, people are just throwing shit around. I'm gonna get in the mix. That is the best feeling sometimes. Gets you in a game faster. Like booms, hit someone first shift, and you're like, "Alright, here we go."

PLD: Yeah. I've had a coach that told me, "The best way to get in the game is first shift to get a hit." And like I said, it's not like I start a game, I'm like, "Alright, I'm gonna get a penalty tonight," or "I'm gonna get in something," or "I'm gonna start a scrum." There's some games that nothing happens, but there's sometimes when the game gets chippy or, I mean it's a physical sport. And it's uh - it's there's a lot of hitting. There's fighting, there's cross checks, you know the battles in front of the net, everything like that. There's a lot of emotion.

So yeah, would I love - I'm gonna finish with, would I love to get less penalty minutes? I would love it. But you know, you never know how it's gonna go so.

Hosts: No, but I mean dude, I think the the best mindset - I think every coach, every player would appreciate that mindset. Because it is - like those games, like uh against the Islanders, those just pop up. And if you're going out there being like I don't really want to get into it with anyone, you're going to be off your game the whole time. So it's like, I promise you, I'd rather you go out there playing the way you want to play right now than go out there trying to win a Lady Bing.

PLD: Yeah. You know, there's some - like uh, like when I was in Columbus my first year, Torts was always telling me, we play good teams, we play you know, top players, and he'd always say, "Don't be scared of them. Don't be scared." And um, I'd often start, so I'd take the first face off against one of the top guys. We were playing um, Anaheim. And he goes, "Okay, tonight you're gonna be playing against Ryan Kessler. I want you to cross check him, first face off." And I'm like, [hand to face, whispering] "Fuuu--" It's gonna be a long game. Do I want to do this?

Hosts: How old are you, what year was this?

PLD: 19.

Hosts: Yeah dude, come on.

PLD: I'm like [grimaces]. He's like, "No, no, you don't fight him. Just cross check him."

Hosts: He's like "Luc, just send a message," sure. Because yeah Ryan Kessler's the type of player who's gonna be like, "Oh, good cross check," he doesn't want to fight. It's - this is fine.[sarcasm]

PLD: But the whole game! But I'm like [sighs] "Okay." So, first face off, I don't even try to go for the puck. I just cross checked him. And-

Hosts: You did it.

PLD: Yeah. Because he told me to do it.

Hosts: Yeah, what are you gonna do, say no to Torts?

PLD: Yeah, so I'm like okay I cross check, and then the rest of the game was just me and him, back and forth, scrum. He grabbed me by like, my collar. I was on my knees. Thankfully, I think Savard was there and was like, pulling me back.

Hosts: He's like, "That's my son."

PLD: Yeah, he's pulling me back. But uh, yeah I think that game, I got two - probably, I got two penalties. You know, like that's just how it goes.

Hosts: Did Kess say something when you cross-checked him, or was it just like - he was like, "Alright, fine?"

PLD: I don't think he - I think he might have just slashed me. But it's a long game, and they were at home. So they were matching against our line, and the whole game was just slash, cross check, slash, cross check. But that's that's how it is, and it was it was a fun game, but you know, at the end of the game you finished with two penalty or four penalty minutes, and a couple scrums and all that and-

Hosts: About 17 new bruises.

PLD: Yeah, I had this, like, cut in my neck from the jersey. But yeah it was uh - those games are also fun. You know, the 7-6 games are great. But you know, most often that's not how it happens, right? You know there's a lot of games that's 2-1, and physical play, and to me those are just as fun.

Host[L]: Hell yeah you got a job to do. And fucking Torts, dude. The guy is out of his fucking mind. I love it.

[chirpingfromthebox]

My favorite bits from the Minnesota post-game press interviews after PWHL Finals Game 4

You can find the entire interviews here! Be sure to give them some views/likes/nice comments/etc.

At the table were Kendall Coyne Schofield, Kelly Pannek, and coach Ken Klee.

The fact that this only got posted now had led me to earlier speculating that they just hadn't done one (especially since no one had mentioned anything). But apparently there had been some technical issues with this one and they only just got them sorted.

Like the Boston one, I'll refrain from my instincts towards making my life easier and just put in all the questions, so as to make sure that anyone interested won't miss anything they might find interesting.

The transcription and a handful of my thoughts on it after the break.

------------------

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REPORTER: Ken, when you started looking at the replay did you think the goalie interference call was the right one?

KEN KLEE: I mean, it’s tough. When it’s in real time it doesn’t look like it, but obviously when you see the replay and slow it down she definitely loses an edge. It’s tough to tell if it’s from Boston player’s stick or she’s just losing an edge. It’s just one of those things that happens. We had lots of chances to win the game. So for us, we get to play another game. That’s the way we gotta look at it. It wasn’t a do-or-die for us, but obviously that one hurt, going from a big high when they’re- the confetti’s going and gloves are coming off. And then you gotta try to refocus real quick. But we get to play another game, so we’re gonna regroup after this one. It hurt and we’ll get back to work.

R: Maybe for Kendall, or Kelly, can you maybe speak to what Ken mentioned? Just the having to collect your stuff and get back ready to go. Just, what’s that like?

KENDALL COYNE SCHOFIELD: Like he mentioned, obviously it’s a high of a high to a alright we’ve gotta balance out this situation, pick up our stuff, and get back to work. You know, it’s not an easy thing to come down from by any means in an instance. But that’s what we had to do. Obviously it is hard, but that was what we had to do.

------------------

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REPORTER: Maybe I’ll ask a follow-up for Kelly, your line had several great chances today. It seemed like you guys were really clicking. What’s working with you, Grace, and Denisa [Křížová]?

KELLY PANNEK: Just keeping it simple. Moving off the puck, moving for each other, and trying to keep that puck moving in the offensive zone. Denisa is really scrappy and she finds a way to find pucks in space and create space. She had a few great rushes. Her and Grace- and anytime you get Grace into space she’s a threat. I just think we’ve been keeping it simple and working off each other well.

------------------

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REPORTER: For anyone, how would you say that the momentum shifted after the goal was overturned?

KELLY PANNEK: I was out there the shift right after, for that first puck drop. I didn’t feel like there was any really big momentum shift to be honest. Even when they ended up scoring, it wasn’t like they had a bunch of momentum riding into that, it was just a hockey play that happens after two overtimes. Actually, to Kendall’s point earlier, we did a good job of resetting. Sometimes the bounces just don’t go your way, which it wasn’t tonight for us.

------------------

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REPORTER: Obviously great goaltending from both teams tonight. To have over 20 shots taken on your goalies and to go scoreless into double overtime. What’s your thoughts on the goaltending tonight?

KENDALL COYNE SCHOFIELD: Well, I don’t think it’s just tonight. [Kendall and Kelly chuckle]. It’s been the whole year. You look at the goaltenders around the league in the regular season, you look at our last series against Toronto, you look at their series against Montréal. You’re not seeing very high scoring games. You kinda just gotta expect that, you gotta be okay winning one-nothing. But this league is obviously the most competitive league in the world and the goaltenders are phenomenal all across the league. So I don’t think it’s a shocker by any means.

------------------

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REPORTER: Kelly, how were the legs in that third overtime? And were you guys doing in-between the OTs to try and keep the energy levels up?

KELLY PANNEK: The legs were fine actually. That’s probably the longest game I’ve played in actually. But it felt pretty good. It’s just kinda the same thing you usually do: talk about what’s going well and what you can adjust, staying focused, hydrating, getting a snack. Just all the basics.

------------------

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REPORTER: Just wondering, after the game stayed out on the ice and thanked your fans and then it look like the players were talking. Just wondering what the message was in there? And if not there, in the dressing room what you were saying to one another?

KENDALL COYNE SCHOFIELD: Oh, yeah, I think we have the best fans in the league. They showed up tonight, obviously we wish we got a different result for them, but just so much credit and love for our fans here in the state of hockey. It was an awesome atmosphere. So just to be able to soak that in one more time, knowing that no matter what, that’s the last time we’ll leave that ice in front of our home crowd. We know they’ll be cheering on Wednesday from here, wherever they may go. I think A Bar of Their Own is the hot place for them to go and celebrate and watch and cheer us on.

But I think the message is to learn from it and turn the page and be ready to go come Wednesday night and do what you need to do. There’s no secrets. Everyone’s tired. [laughing] We’ve played a lot of hockey. I think a lot more hockey than most of us are used to in this inaugural season. We gotta recognize that we did a lot of great things tonight. A bounce here, a bounce there, we’d maybe be having a different conversation right now for sure. But being able to turn the page and recognizing the last one to win is the hardest one. That’s the reality for anything. I think that was the message. Rest up. [Laughing] some people’s legs feel better than other [looks over at Kelly and Kelly smirks back].

KELLY PANNEK: I think I’d just be lying to myself. We’ll talk about it later.

KCS: It might just be an age thing, Kell.

KP: Hey! Hey. District 21.

------------------

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REPORTER: For Ken, last I checked, so forgive me if this is wrong, but Lee Stecklein led all skaters tonight in ice time. Just what does she mean to this group?

KEN KLEE: She’s awesome. She’s a leader. Both on the ice and off. You know, she controls the play. She’s got as good of a stick and gap as anybody in the league. For us she’s paramount. She’s awesome out there for us. I’m not surprised. I haven’t seen the minutes yet, but I’m not surprised for you to tell me that she probably led us in minutes tonight. She often does. She’s just a great player for us. She’s been a great player for us all year. [smiling] We’ll need her to be a great player again on Wednesday.

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REPORTER: The power play opportunities, plentiful, just couldn’t finish the job there. What do you feel like it’s gonna take to crack the code on the power plays?

KEN KLEE: I think we just gotta keep putting pucks on nets. I think we hit four posts. A half-inch off one way or the other and those are in the net. We had some great looks and their power play had some great looks too. It was an exciting game, it was just a matter of inches. The whole game was. For us this one hurts, but we’re going to have to reset and we’ll have a day tomorrow to rest and we’ll travel to Boston and get ready to go on Wednesday.

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You know, I was worried about where Minnesota's head might be at (especially after it was seeming like they hadn't even done a post-game press session). But not anymore! These two were Cool A.F.

WAY different vibes from where Boston was at after Game 3.

Kendall and Kelly had a sort of fun energy I can only describe as the sort you get after pulling an all-nighter where you've pushed past the tiredness and entered a state where all your worries seem lighter. They were joking with one another and seemed to know exactly what they needed to do going forward.

And Pannek must be made out of pure Tough, because you could never never tell that she just did 5 periods of hockey. If you showed me some clips from this and told me it was from a PRE-game press conference I would never doubt you for a second.

It should be noted though that these two are both captains of the team, veteran players, and Olympic gold medalists (and SO much more). So them taking this in stride is exactly what you want to see from your veteran players.

I am curious how the more rookie players are taking it. But if your team's leadership is this calm and focused, I've gotta think that would go a long way to helping get your head back on the right track. And I hope so, because I think Minnesota's rookies are the X-factors in this series. As we've seen so far this series when players like Heise and Jaques get rolling? They are hard to stop.

In any case my worries have been put to bed, and my take away from this is that Game 5 is gonna be EPIC. Boston seems to do their best work when they have everything on the line. And Minnesota has a confidence in its abilities that can't be shaken.

OR one team will finally figure out their power play game and then just absolutely run over the other team.

It's the championship after all.

Anything can happen.

[archonoclasm]

@astraldestiny asked: "you will be safe in the right hands." from josephine <3 / 𝑺𝑶𝑭𝑻 𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑵𝑺 𝑽𝑶𝑳. 𝑰 : still accepting.

"You mean beyond your own?"

She sounds sure. Of course. Josephine Montilyet is always sure. After all, if wit is his weapon, then the most thorough of preparation is their darling Antivan's. Dorian looks thoughtful at his cards, fingers idling along some sovereign he's currently betting. She cares unendingly, he knows, and is parts a mother hen as this world of theirs smolders in ash and demons, but even with his streak of stubborn independence, her care, her worry, is usually welcomes.

In truth, among their scrappy little party, Dorian thought her the last person who would lace his nightly tots. It makes her endearing, he supposes, being so utterly hesitant to start murdering her mages in very handsome leather. Playing a hand, Dorian's very secretly cheating, but that's the only way to win. Keep bluffing and shaking off her worrying comments, he'd say! Just like now with her talk of...hands.

"Do you know someone? Can I expect to be shuffled between arranged meetings to vet these apparent bulwarks of chivalry?"